Technical changes to Message Board

There have been a few changes to the MB recently (earlier this week maybe??) and wanted to note that a few things are not working well.

In the past, one could mouse-over a thread title and see the first few words of the post, to preview it instead of clicking to load the whole post (and replies). That function no longer appears to work.

Also in the past, a bookmark in a web browser with a non-standard "Style" would display in whatever that style (e.g. Couples Blue (Old School), vB4 Default Style, Couples Light, or (under Mobile Styles) Couples Mobile.) was, instead of the default style.
Now the bookmark always leads to the default style (Couples Dark), no matter what. We've tried on several different computers and several browser types and it behaves the same in all cases. (A browser that remembers the link, behaves the same as a bookmark, but in the past, would've remembered the style chosen).

We're not even sure what the change was for (perhaps the "Link Back" function for Digg, del.icio.us, Technoratia, and Tweet ? - or perhaps we just never noticed that before).

rudi - There has been no change in how the message board works for us at all. The "mouse-over" feature is still there, and our browser display of the bookmark for the board has not changed either. Not sure why you are having a problem.

Regarding your first issue, lack of post preview popup, we tested this on several browsers and found it to work in all and in all skin versions.

However there are some situations where that may not work.

If you are NOT logged in, the pop-ups will not appear.

If you are logged in and they do not appear, the browser window may be 'out of focus', not the active window. You may need to click somewhere on page to make it the focus.

If you are logged in, there are some browser versions where you need to mouse directly on the thread link lettering for it to appear. In others mousing in its extended full box activates the pop up. [Note that popups will disappear as soon as you move your cursor.]

Regarding your second question, we believe that to may a login issue.

IF you have logged in and IF you checked the "Remember Me?" box when you logged in, a cookie is set taking note of your login status and skin preferences.

IF you do NOT log out and close your browser, you will be 'remembered'. So when you next reopen your browser and click your bookmark to access the message board, your login will be active and your skin choice will remain the same.

IF you LOG OUT and close your browser the cookie is removed and your login and skin choices will be surrendered.

IF you have logged out then reopen your browser and hit the message board via your bookmark, or any other method, you are no longer recognized and will be served the default gray skin just the same as any newbie visitor.

Providing a consistent appearance and experience to every user is an increasingly difficult task in a time when multiple browsers with multiple versions are increasingly proliferating. Add to that the explosion of mobile and tablet versions and the one-size fits all days have gone bye bye.

We try over very hardest to keep the experience the best for most by continually updating the message board software with the very latest versions and security patches. We urge you to keep your browsers updated both for your best experience and your personal security.

Please feel free to contact us by clicking the Contact Us link that the bottom of any message board page if you have any questions or encounter any difficulties. Your input is greatly appreciated.

cmbadmin,
Thank you for the thorough reply and explanation (screenshots even!!!)

The change in the 2 issues is b/c we typically do not log in unless needing to post. Logging in fixes both issues, though we did not have to log in prior to a few days ago.
We understand the difficulties in dealing with multiple browsers, devices, etc. and will just deal with it.

KrisJamie,
The VBulletin version was the 1st thing we thought of, but b/c it still said "Version 4.2.0" at the footer, naively thought it hadn't changed.

From the above explanation it probably doesn't matter to anyone now, but for those who asked, we tried on several different devices (laptops, netbook, and a desktop) and on browsers: IE9, Chrome (22.0.1229.94), and Firefox. All cases exhibited the same behavior (until now that we've logged in, that is).

For what it's worth, I have had some of the same issues. Most notable, or at least most noticeable, was the lack of post previews when hovering over the thread headings. This was occurring on both PC with IE8 and on my Mac with Safari. Seems to have returned to normal now. No big deal but I just thought I would mention it to somewhat verify it may not have been an individual circumstance.

Rudi, I had the same problem with the skin. I just deleted the Couples site off my bookmark bar, changed the default to -old school- and created a new bookmark. Seems to work fine for me now. Hope that helps. Don

Rudi, I had the same problem with the skin. I just deleted the Couples site off my bookmark bar, changed the default to -old school- and created a new bookmark. Seems to work fine for me now. Hope that helps. Don